1 Peter 2:4

1 Peter 2:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,
• New International Version (NIV)As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—
• English Standard Version (ESV)As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious,
• New Living Translation (NLT)You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor.

Context of 1 Peter 2:4

2as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, 3if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”

1 Peter 2:4 word by word

πρὸς ὃν προσερχόμενοι λίθον ζῶντα, ὑπὸ ἀνθρώπων μὲν ἀποδεδοκιμασμένον παρὰ δὲ θεῷ ἐκλεκτὸν ἔντιμον,Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Toπρόςpros · to/withG4314
• whomὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• comingπροσέρχομαιproserchomai · to come near/agreeG4334
• a livingζάωzaō · to liveG2198
• stoneλίθοςlithos · stoneG3037
• disallowedἀποδοκιμάζωapodokimazō · to rejectG593
• indeedμένmen · on the other handG3303
• ofὑπόhupo · by/under: byG5259
• menἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
• butδέde · thenG1161
• chosenἐκλεκτόςeklektos · selectG1588
• ofπαράpara · from/with/besideG3844
• Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• preciousἔντιμοςentimos · valued/honoredG1784

Cross-references for 1 Peter 2:4

• Isaiah 55:3Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you— The sure mercies of David.
• Jeremiah 3:22“Return, you backsliding children, And I will heal your backslidings.” “Indeed we do come to You, For You are the Lord our God.
• Matthew 11:28Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
• John 5:40But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.
• John 6:37All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.
• John 5:26For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself,
• John 6:57As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.
• John 11:25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.
• John 14:6Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
• Romans 5:10For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
• Colossians 3:4When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
• Isaiah 28:16Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily.
• Daniel 2:34You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.
• Zechariah 3:9For behold, the stone That I have laid before Joshua: Upon the stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave its inscription,’ Says the Lord of hosts, ‘And I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.
• Zechariah 4:7‘Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone With shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” ’ ”
• Psalms 118:22The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone.

Commentaries on 1 Peter 2:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4To whom coming, as unto a living stone - This is a reference to Isaiah 28:16; : Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation. Jesus Christ is, in both the prophet and apostle, represented as the foundation on which the Christian Church is built, and on which it must continue to rest: and the stone or foundation is called here living, to intimate that he is the source of life to all his…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4To whom coming - To the Lord Jesus, for so the word “Lord” is to be understood in 1 Peter 2:3. Compare the notes at Acts 1:24. The idea here is, that they had come to him for salvation, while the great mass of people rejected him. Others “disallowed” him, and turned away from him, but they had seen that he was the one chosen or appointed of God, and had come to him in order to be saved. Salvation is often represented as corning to Christ. See Matthew…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight: This refers to Psalm 118:22, which is quoted in 1 Peter 2:7.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. coming--drawing near (same Greek as here, He 10:22) by faith continually; present tense: not having come once for all at conversion. stone--Peter (that is, a stone, named so by Christ) desires that all similarly should be living stones BUILT ON Christ, the true foundation-stone; compare his speech in Ac 4:11. An undesigned coincidence and mark of genuineness. The Spirit foreseeing the Romanist perversion of Mt 16:18 (compare Mt 16:16, "Son of the…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Peter 2:4

• Jesus Continued
• Stones

In the dictionaries

• God
• Bishop
• Chosen
• Cloke
• Disallow
• Fleshly
• Offer
• Sincere
• Spiritual
• Stone

Commentaries on 1 Peter 2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings